The present invention relates to a tape loading device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus such as a VTR (video tape recorder) or a DAT (Digital Audio Tape Recorder) and, more particularly, to a tape loading device which is used for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus of a type wherein a tape is drawn or pulled out of a cassette and then loaded.
A VTR device, as a typical example of the magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus of the type mentioned above, has a tape loading device in which tape guides each having flanges at both ends thereof, as well as inclined tape guides, are provided and the flanged and inclined tape guides define a path along which the tape runs. Some of these tape guides are installed on a movable bases to protrude therefrom. After a tape cassette has been loaded on a VTR, as the movable bases move along a guide plate disposed around a rotary head drum, the tape guides on the movable bases draw the tape out of the tape cassette and wind the same on the peripheral surface of the rotary head drum. This type of tape loading device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-282968.
In recent years, in the field of magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus, there are increasing demands for higher performance such as a greater speed of tape loading and unloading, higher access speed and other factors, particularly for VTRs used in broadcasting and other business purposes. On the other hand, there is a trend toward reduction in the thickness and stiffness of magnetic tapes, in order to meet requirements for digital signal recording/reproduction and for longer playing time, increasing the risk for the tape to be damaged. This tendency noticeably affects high-speed tape loading operation.
For instance, the known apparatuses encounter the following problems. When a high-speed tape loading is conducted, the tape is excessively drawn out due to inertia of reels of the cassette even after the mechanism such as tape guides is stopped upon completion of the operation. As a result, the tape is slackened on the peripheral surface of the rotary head drum or on the tape guides, or the tape comes off the drum, resulting in damaging of the tape.